Petrova Family
The Pierce Family, formerly the Petrov '('Petrova '''for female members) Family', is a main family in The Vampire Diaries Series. It is an old noble family, but it is not confirmed that it is a founding family. It has been stated that Pierce is a derivation from a European, Bulgarian name, Petrov (Bulgarian: ''Петров) and Petrova (Bulgarian: Петрова). Family Tree The Pierce family is still a mystery. There are only three known family members at this point. They are depicted in the family tree below. It is unknown at this moment, how exactly Katherine is related to Isobel and Elena, but it has been confirmed that they are all related. The only way Isobel and Elena could be descendants of Katherine implies that Katherine would have had to have a child when she was still human. This was confirmed in Katerina after Katherine admitted to Elena that she had given birth to an illegitimate daughter as a human. In Bloodlines, when Stefan told Elena that she was adopted, he said that he couldn't look into the Pierce Family to see if she was related to Katherine as it was too dangerous suggesting that the Pierces know or that they are dangerous. The family has a history of people in the family being Doppelgängers. Katherine was the first doppelgänger, and most likely is the second. The original person who the Doppelgängers are based off of has not been seen or mentioned. Doppelgängers blood is needed to break Klaus' curse, previously referred to in the series as the (fake) sun and the moon curse which weaken vampires in the sun and cause werewolves to only transform on a full moon. The real curse prevents Klaus from using his werewolf abilities. This is the reason why Katherine faked her death in 1864 and why vampires are after Elena. The Family Family Members Katherine Pierce Katherine Pierce (b. Katerina Petrova) Katherine was born in the year 1475 in Bulgaria, making her over 500 years old (535 to be exact). Much to her parents dismay, Katherine gave birth to a daughter in the year 1490, when she was a young teen, therefore, continuing the Petrova bloodline, but her daughter was immediately given away and her family had disowned her for having a baby out of wedlock. She was then banished from Bulgaria and she ran away to England. It was there she encountered and met a nobleman named Klaus. Katherine was unaware of it at first but Klaus was after the Petrova doppelganger. Katherine discovered she was the Petrova doppelganger so she tried to run away from Klaus. She got hurt so Rose gave her some blood. She was turned into a vampire in 1492, at 17 years old after she committed suicide by hanging herself with a rope. After feeding on human blood and completing her transformation into a vampire, Katherine escaped Rose and returned to Bulgaria the same year, only to discover that Klaus had murdered her entire family, just to get back at her for running leaving her to live with the guilt. Many centuries later, in 1864, Katherine met Stefan and Damon Salvatore, near the end of the American Civil War, when she was staying at their home in Mystic Falls. She had created a story that both of her parents had died in a fire in Atlanta and she needed a place to stay. Damon and Stefan both fought over her during this time, which sparked the Salvatore brothers' life-long rivalry. Katherine faked her own death because Klaus found her and wanted to kill her. She did this by trying to kill all of her vampire friends in a church fire that she would escape through the back entrance of when the fire started. The Salvatore brothers had a different plan to save Katherine so they had Katherine's witch friend Emily lock all the vampires in a tomb under the church. In 2010, Stefan and Damon discovered Katherine was not in the tomb and that she was still very much alive and had been free for the past 145 years. Damon is both angry and heartbroken by this but Stefan is not really affected. Both Stefan and Damon hate Katherine but for different reasons. Damon hates Katherine because she broke his heart by faking her death and Stefan hates her for destroying his life by causing a rift between him and his brother, as well as turning him into a vampire against his will. She most recently returns to Mystic Falls to cause havoc on the town. She stabs John Gilbert, after kissing Damon and tricking him into thinking she was Elena. Katherine reveals that she has always loved Stefan and that she never loved Damon and has since done everything to put strain on Stefan and Elena's relationship, eventually leading them to break up after she attacks Elena's aunt, Jenna. Although Katherine insists that she came back for Stefan, she clearly has other plans up her sleeve. Her most important mission in coming back to Mystic Falls is to break The Sun and The Moon Curse. It is also revealed that Katherine is the first Petrova Doppelganger. In Katerina, Katherine finds her family photo in the Petrova Book and cries showing Katherine really does love and miss her family. Katherine's Mother Katherine's mother (name unknown, most likely known as Mrs. Petrova) was a Bulgarian woman who had a daughter named Katerina Petrova (also known as Katherine Pierce) in the year 1475. She helped Katherine give birth to her own daughter, who was born in the year 1490, when Katerina was just a teenager. Katherine's daughter was immediately given away after she was born with Katherine's mother insisting that it is better for her daughter this way. Katherine is devastated by this. However, she and her father greatly disapproved of Katerina having a baby out of wedlock and they ended up disowning her for being an embarrassment to the entire family. As a result, Katherine was banished from Bulgaria by both of her parents. After Katherine was transformed into a vampire and returned to her native Bulgaria in the year 1492, Katherine discovered that her mother, along with the rest of her family, were murdered by Klaus, to get back at her for running away from him. Katherine's Father Katherine's father (name unknown, most likely known as Mr. Petrova) '''was a Bulgarian man who had a daughter named Katerina Petrova with his wife, in the year 1475. He observed his daughter, Katerina, giving birth to a baby daughter in the year 1490. Showing strong disapproval of Katerina having a baby out of wedlock, he decides to take Katerina's baby away and send her (Katerina's) daughter to some unknown destination. Katherine is devastated by this but is comforted by her mother, with her mother saying that it is best for her and the child. Because of the embarrassment that Mr. Petrova felt that Katerina has put on the entire family, he and his wife decide to banish Katherine from Bulgaria, where afterwards, she runs away to England, where she meets a nobleman named Klaus. After discovering what Klaus wants from her, Katherine ends up running away to find safety and protection. Katherine is turned into a vampire by Rose, in the year 1492. After her transformation and her escape from Klaus, Katherine then returns home to Bulgaria that same year and discovers that her father, along with everyone within her entire family, has been murdered by Klaus. Klaus did this to get back at Katherine for running away from him. Katherine's Daughter '''Katherine's daughter (name unknown) was born in the year 1490 in Bulgaria. Her birth was how the Petrova bloodline was continued. Katerina gave birth to her when she was just a young teen. Katherine gave birth to her daughter out of wedlock and much to both of her parents disapproval, she was given away and taken away to some unknown destination. This left Katerina devastated. Her grandfather took her somewhere and that's how the Petrova line was continued. Isobel Saltzman Isobel Saltzman is Elena's biological mother. She was married to Alaric Saltzman. She is a vampire. It's told that Isobel gave birth to Elena when she was just 16 years old. It is revealed that the birth father of her daughter, Elena, is John Gilbert. She is related to Katherine through the Pierce (Petrova) bloodline, although it is not yet clear where the relation between Katherine and Isobel is. Isobel is helping John get Katherine out of the tomb and she does not show much affection for her daughter Elena. All that is known is that she is a descendant of Katherine Pierce. After she was killed and turned into a vampire by Damon Salvatore, Isobel went looking for Katherine and helped her research about the tomb vampires and got the Gilbert Device for John Gilbert to destroy all of the tomb vampires so Katherine could return to Mystic Falls. Katherine also helped Isobel get a Lapis Lazuli necklace so she could walk in daylight without being harmed. Later on, Isobel betrays Katherine, most probably because she was compelled. She gives Katherine and Alaric over to Klaus and then kills herself in front of Elena by taking off her Lapis Lazuli necklace so she burns in the sun, ironically in front of her own tombstone. Elena Gilbert Elena Gilbert is the biological daughter of Isobel Saltzman and therefore, is a descendant of Katherine Pierce, to whom she bears a striking resemblance. This was the initial reason why both Stefan and Damon Salvatore were so drawn to her. She is related to Katherine Pierce and is a member of the Pierce (Petrova) bloodline, although it has not become clear what the real relation between the two really is. It has been revealed that Elena is the second Petrova Doppelganger, with Katherine being the first Petrova Doppelganger. Relatives Isobel was dating John Gilbert and at some point in 1992, Isobel became pregnant and gave birth to Elena with the assistance of John's brother Grayson. John Gilbert John Gilbert met and fell in love with Isobel Flemming during their teenage years and they dated each other for a while. When Isobel was just 16, Isobel told John that she was pregnant and John brought her to his older brother, Grayson Gilbert, who was the local pediatrician or OB/GYN, so that she could give birth to a daughter named Elena. Isobel left Elena in the good hands of Grayson and his wife Miranda, who didn't know that John was actually the biological father. He later sacrificed himself to resurrect Elena after Klaus had killed her, having Bonnie Bennett channel his life force into Elena's body once she died. 'Alaric Saltzman' 'Alaric Saltzman' is introduced as the new history teacher for Jeremy, Elena, Bonnie and Stefan's history classes and also knows that vampires exist in the small town of Mystic Falls. It was later revealed that he thinks his wife, Isobel, was killed by a vampire, who he suspects is Damon. Later we find out that Isobel wanted to become a vampire, and begged Damon to turn her, thus making Isobel a vampire. Isobel later came back and compelled Alaric to move on from her and Alaric begins to express an interest in Elena and Jeremy's aunt, Jenna Sommers. Jenna and Alaric are currently dating, and seem to really like each other. 'Grayson Gilbert' He was a doctor who adopted Elena. The older brother of John, biological uncle of Elena. Since their roles didn't play much in the series, Grayson and his wife were only seen in photos. At the Pilot episode of Season One, they're pronounced dead from a tragic car accident and their gravestone was seen when Elena visited the cemetery. Category:Vampire Diaries Characters Category:Families Category:Pierce Family Category:Main Family Category:Season 1 Characters Category:Season 2 Characters